My thought at the moment is that if you feel too stultified by the local culture to do your own thing, then perhaps your own personal style is not that strong, or that you lack the courage to put your creativity into action.

I speak from considerable personal experience as a lifelong Midwestern girl with a very distinctive, if frequently idiosyncratic style. If you've got the brass 'nads to work it, you can look and act practically any way you like. Not saying your modus operandi will be generally appreciated, just saying that you can be stylish wherever you've hatched.

If I were to sum up midwestern style, however, I'd say that our area of the country is where "the girl next door" comes from. No matter the race or ethnicity, I see a lot of very fresh-faced, appealing young women around Kansas City, who have a vibrant, youthful beauty enhanced by simple, classic, and harmonious clothing.

If the nice weather we had today holds though the weekend, I'll get out and see if I can prove my point.

My thought at the moment is that if you feel too stultified by the local culture to do your own thing, then perhaps your own personal style is not that strong, or that you lack the courage to put your creativity into action.

I speak from considerable personal experience as a lifelong Midwestern girl with a very distinctive, if frequently idiosyncratic style. If you've got the brass 'nads to work it, you can look and act practically any way you like. Not saying your modus operandi will be generally appreciated, just saying that you can be stylish wherever you've hatched.

Well said, AYLI. I've pretty much decided to buck the trend and dress up however, whenever I want, going against the grain of looking like an average sloppy college student.

As a resident of the midwest, and a fashinista, the only thing I can add to all of this is that I have met some very wealthy fashionable people, and some very fashionable people on a budget. The difference between the two? The girls on a budget were very creative, and looked fabulous, while the girls who spent loads of money at the "right" stores were not at all creative, had high credit card debt, and looked fabulous.

I think of all of the American cities that I have travelled to, loved, and lived in, Chicago is my favorite for fashion. In New York, the women seem to be desperate to one up each ther, in a race to be hip, "in", and unique. In LA, things seem flashy and gross. In Chicago, fashion seems easy, chic and elegant, but there remains that crowd of folks with the raw edge that you cannot see in Missouri, for instance.

In the end, geography has never equaled taste and creativity to me. There will be duds in my beloved Chicago, and there are, of course, a bevy of beauties in New York and LA that will always get it right.

My thought at the moment is that if you feel too stultified by the local culture to do your own thing, then perhaps your own personal style is not that strong, or that you lack the courage to put your creativity into action.

I speak from considerable personal experience as a lifelong Midwestern girl with a very distinctive, if frequently idiosyncratic style. If you've got the brass 'nads to work it, you can look and act practically any way you like. Not saying your modus operandi will be generally appreciated, just saying that you can be stylish wherever you've hatched.

If I were to sum up midwestern style, however, I'd say that our area of the country is where "the girl next door" comes from. No matter the race or ethnicity, I see a lot of very fresh-faced, appealing young women around Kansas City, who have a vibrant, youthful beauty enhanced by simple, classic, and harmonious clothing.

If the nice weather we had today holds though the weekend, I'll get out and see if I can prove my point.

*Stand-up ovation*

__________________

"Make up your mind/Wake up and fight"W.G.|| "I reckon you think you've been redeemed" H.M. || "All music for me is worship of one kind or another" B.

i don't really think it matters where you live. There are people in nyc and la who don't have any style. In a lot of areas you see abercrombie, ae, gap, the generic brands. personally, i dont really wear any of those. I do have my own style. Its more of having knowledge about fashion, and just having personal style, than the area that you live

I live in Michigan. And most people here have no(if you must) style , because we've only got "generic brands" as in we basically only have the stores that sohoxchic listed. I wouldn't go so far as to say we don't have style though, because we don't have much to work with. Not everyone can afford Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton and Chanel and such, let alone afford to travel to New York, or LA or wherever to get them. Most people here work with what they're provided and add their own touches that gives them their own style.

I will see if I can take some pictures around school . . people here are more stylish then you may think.

__________________To be irreplaceable, one must always be a little different - Coco Chanel

^^I'm from Michigan and there is TONS of fantasic shopping. I'm wondering where you live exactly (cause I realize there are areas that are less than amazing). Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Birmingham....All wonderful places to shop at unique boutiques and theres always Somerset the massive mall with anything one would want...Saks, Neimans, Fields, Nordstrom, the list goes on and on.

__________________“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in his or her shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.”

Let me say this first of all...style, as well as beauty, is a quality that is relative and subjective. I am not going to argue the point that some of you think I was making...and perhaps I miscommunicated...but I was expressing an opinion...one persons opinion. I dont think its healthy nor reasonable to have a discussion board on something as subjective as style, where a variety of opinions is not allowed...that would be repressive, and I didnt think that was what we were about here.

Having said that...I feel the need to clarify...I said earlier that I lost motivation to be creative. I did NOT say stylish...where I lived in the midwest there simply were not the shopping options to maintain my creative style, and I certainly didnt have time to hunt. Also, the conservative attitudes were such that if I wished to maintain my professional appearance I would have to accept a conservative-style, not creative-style. What I was trying to say was simply that, in my observation, people who were creative in their dress were not regarded as creative so much as "quirky" or "odd". Each region generally has its own flavor. The flavor where I was living in the midwest was vanilla. period. I lived in a city in Ohio. And as you will see in other early postings in this thread from other people in cities in the Buckeye state, the mainstream there has an overwhelming influence, and that influence is conservative -- and as a result the market is conservative and so are the retailers who buy for that region. I learned this directly from the retailers. So, if you happen to work, or socialize in certain circles there, you will be affected. Its not about having "nads" to do your own thing, as someone put it...thats not always going to be a winning strategy in the working world, in a conservative city.

I know first hand, from living in other cities, ones which are more open than the one where I lived in the midwest, that I can, as a professional still dress creatively, without having to sacrifice my professional reputation. That's my main issue and challenge.
I did travel quite a bit in the mid-west, enough to form some initial impressions, but I will say I'm not qualified to speak about style in other midwestern cities, and I should have stated in my post which offended some of you that I was referring only to the area of the midwest that I knew best. I am not apologizing for my opinion on that. I just know that when I first moved to another city, upon seeing the professional women, my first thought was -- you are actually wearing that to work?? and -- you actually CAN wear that to work?? These were not suggestive or revealing clothes either just to be clear. I hope this makes sense.
By the way, I also never said that the style headquarters is New York or LA...and I never implied it either. I just think we should all just let our defenses relax -- just a little -- it's only fashion afterall -- its not anything so critical as a disaster, world hunger, or war.

Let me say this first of all...style, as well as beauty, is a quality that is relative and subjective. I am not going to argue the point that some of you think I was making...and perhaps I miscommunicated...but I was expressing an opinion...one persons opinion. I dont think its healthy nor reasonable to have a discussion board on something as subjective as style, where a variety of opinions is not allowed...that would be repressive, and I didnt think that was what we were about here.

Having said that...I feel the need to clarify...I said earlier that I lost motivation to be creative. I did NOT say stylish...where I lived in the midwest there simply were not the shopping options to maintain my creative style, and I certainly didnt have time to hunt. Also, the conservative attitudes were such that if I wished to maintain my professional appearance I would have to accept a conservative-style, not creative-style. What I was trying to say was simply that, in my observation, people who were creative in their dress were not regarded as creative so much as "quirky" or "odd". Each region generally has its own flavor. The flavor where I was living in the midwest was vanilla. period. I lived in a city in Ohio. And as you will see in other early postings in this thread from other people in cities in the Buckeye state, the mainstream there has an overwhelming influence, and that influence is conservative -- and as a result the market is conservative and so are the retailers who buy for that region. I learned this directly from the retailers. So, if you happen to work, or socialize in certain circles there, you will be affected. Its not about having "nads" to do your own thing, as someone put it...thats not always going to be a winning strategy in the working world, in a conservative city.

I know first hand, from living in other cities, ones which are more open than the one where I lived in the midwest, that I can, as a professional still dress creatively, without having to sacrifice my professional reputation. That's my main issue and challenge.
I did travel quite a bit in the mid-west, enough to form some initial impressions, but I will say I'm not qualified to speak about style in other midwestern cities, and I should have stated in my post which offended some of you that I was referring only to the area of the midwest that I knew best. I am not apologizing for my opinion on that. I just know that when I first moved to another city, upon seeing the professional women, my first thought was -- you are actually wearing that to work?? and -- you actually CAN wear that to work?? These were not suggestive or revealing clothes either just to be clear. I hope this makes sense.
By the way, I also never said that the style headquarters is New York or LA...and I never implied it either. I just think we should all just let our defenses relax -- just a little -- it's only fashion afterall -- its not anything so critical as a disaster, world hunger, or war.

Let me say this first of all...style, as well as beauty, is a quality that is relative and subjective. I am not going to argue the point that some of you think I was making...and perhaps I miscommunicated...but I was expressing an opinion...one persons opinion. I dont think its healthy nor reasonable to have a discussion board on something as subjective as style, where a variety of opinions is not allowed...that would be repressive, and I didnt think that was what we were about here.

Having said that...I feel the need to clarify...I said earlier that I lost motivation to be creative. I did NOT say stylish...where I lived in the midwest there simply were not the shopping options to maintain my creative style, and I certainly didnt have time to hunt. Also, the conservative attitudes were such that if I wished to maintain my professional appearance I would have to accept a conservative-style, not creative-style. What I was trying to say was simply that, in my observation, people who were creative in their dress were not regarded as creative so much as "quirky" or "odd". Each region generally has its own flavor. The flavor where I was living in the midwest was vanilla. period. I lived in a city in Ohio. And as you will see in other early postings in this thread from other people in cities in the Buckeye state, the mainstream there has an overwhelming influence, and that influence is conservative -- and as a result the market is conservative and so are the retailers who buy for that region. I learned this directly from the retailers. So, if you happen to work, or socialize in certain circles there, you will be affected. Its not about having "nads" to do your own thing, as someone put it...thats not always going to be a winning strategy in the working world, in a conservative city.

I know first hand, from living in other cities, ones which are more open than the one where I lived in the midwest, that I can, as a professional still dress creatively, without having to sacrifice my professional reputation. That's my main issue and challenge.
I did travel quite a bit in the mid-west, enough to form some initial impressions, but I will say I'm not qualified to speak about style in other midwestern cities, and I should have stated in my post which offended some of you that I was referring only to the area of the midwest that I knew best. I am not apologizing for my opinion on that. I just know that when I first moved to another city, upon seeing the professional women, my first thought was -- you are actually wearing that to work?? and -- you actually CAN wear that to work?? These were not suggestive or revealing clothes either just to be clear. I hope this makes sense.
By the way, I also never said that the style headquarters is New York or LA...and I never implied it either. I just think we should all just let our defenses relax -- just a little -- it's only fashion afterall -- its not anything so critical as a disaster, world hunger, or war.

Right, but this website is called "The Fashion Spot" not the "Disaster, World Hunger, or War Spot"

So allow the overall wearing podunks from the midwest to defend themselves, ya'hear?

^^I'm from Michigan and there is TONS of fantasic shopping. I'm wondering where you live exactly (cause I realize there are areas that are less than amazing). Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Birmingham....All wonderful places to shop at unique boutiques and theres always Somerset the massive mall with anything one would want...Saks, Neimans, Fields, Nordstrom, the list goes on and on.

I'm in Howell. Basically I have Twelve Oaks and the Meridian Mall as my choices . . .

__________________To be irreplaceable, one must always be a little different - Coco Chanel